A Wreck in Time
by SteeleSimz
Summary: When a trip to the orphanage goes arwy, Hawkeye and Margaret find themselves in a dark predicament.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I have zero rights to M.A.S.H, characters, etc._

 _Author's Note: I recently broke cartilage in my ankle, was on rest for a few months and with the help of Hulu I finally watched the entire series of M.A.S.H. This story is me just testing the waters for now and is a Christmas gift to a dear friend of mine._

 _This story contains spoilers up to season 11 ._

 _ **A Wreck in Time:**_

 _For Michelle:_

Hawkeye placed his tray down on the long wooden table as he and B.J. took their spots on the wooden bench inside the mess tent for breakfast. Across from them Margaret had already started on her breakfast of powdered eggs. Hawkeye picked up a piece of bacon with his fork and sniffed it before placing it on B.J. tray next to him, then he proceed to pick up the next piece and sniff it also.

"Will you please stop sniffing your food," Margaret told him like a parent would tell their child to stop playing with their food.

"My food, my nose, my sniff, " he remarked with a smirk on his face as be picked up the piece of bread.

She just glared at him, "How can you be so childish?"

"Easy," he stuck his tongue out before sniffing the piece of bread and tossing it across to B.J.'s tray.

"Grow up," she scolded him before taking a bite of her eggs.

"But if I grow anymore then my head will be in the clouds, literally."

"It's too early for your childish humor."

"Is not!"

Margaret didn't have time to retort when Potter came up to the table. "Good morning Colonel," everyone said half-heartedly as he took a seat at their table.

"Pierce and Houlihan, you two have been here the longest of the group, do you remember a Captain Tuttle?"

"Captain Tuttle sure, he was helping Saint Theresa orphanage before he died that terrible death," Hawkeye said he wiped a pretend tear from his eye. "Good man that Tuttle was."

Margaret glared at him before turning her attention to Potter primly, "He's also known as Pierce's imaginary friend."

"Major, he was no imaginary friend," Hawkeye said defensively in Tuttle's name, almost genuinely.

"You and Trapper made him up, and then convince the army to give you back pay for him, if I remember correctly, for 14 months! Then, you conveniently 'killed' him in a parachute accident so General Clayton wouldn't know any better, followed by having his said 'death' benefits going to the orphanage," Margaret reminded him. Hawkeye couldn't help but smile at the memory and her own impeccable recollection.

"Impressive, Major, " he told her before looking back at Potter with his only defense."The money went to a good cause sir."

"Your heart may have been a good place, Pierce, but the army always catches on and they caught on to your scheme. They have stopped all money going to the orphanage as of this morning and a lieutenant from I-CORPS is on his way out to discuss the matter with me tomorrow," Potter said with a fake smile.

"Do you want me to talk to them?" Hawkeye suggested but Potter shook his head no.

"You've done enough damage Pierce! I want you to take a jeep to the orphanage and tell them in person why they will no longer be receiving the monthly supplies and money from the army, are clear?"

"Yes, sir," he replied as he pushed his tray of uneaten food away from him.

"Your lies were bound to catch up with you, Captain," Margaret told him in a matter-of-fact tone in her voice.

"And you will be joining him Major," Potter ordered her.

This was obviously quite a surprise to her. "Sir?"

"You knew he made it up and didn't say anything, you are as much to blame as him," he answered her. "You two better get going before the storm comes in or you will be swimming your way back." With that announcement, Potter got to his feet and left the mess tent.

Margaret slammed her fork on the tray and glared at Hawkeye,"Thank you Captain!"

"This isn't my fault," he told her "and if you had kept your mouth closed about him being imaginary then we wouldn't be in this situation."

"If you hadn't made him up to begin with we wouldn't be here!" She shrilled before getting up and walking out of the mess tent.

They watched her leave with amusement. "You had an imaginary friend?" B.J. asked with a smirk.

"Tuttle thought it was a good idea," Hawkeye shrugged with his shoulders.

"And Tuttle also thought it was a good idea to help the orphanage?"

"He did and it was perfectly fine until Tuttle decided he wanted backpay," Hawkeye told him and B.J. started laughing.

"How did you ever pull this stunt off?"

"I obviously didn't pull it off since they caught on and I'm on my way to an orphanage," Hawkeye got to his feet and B.J. joined him as they grabbed their trays and dropped the uneaten food into the can, and placed their trays on top of it.

"At least we have a nice lull going on so you probably won't miss anything important," B.J. told him as they made their way to the swamp. Upon entering the tent Hawkeye went straight for the still and filled a martini glass with their newest gin swill. Gulping it down, he took off his army issue jacket and put on his Hawaiian shirt before replacing the jacket on top of it.

"Don't forget to leave the light on dear," he told B.J. with a smiled, and walked out of the tent, and headed towards Margaret's tent.

He rapped lightly on the fabric. "Oh dear, it's time to go. The children will be waiting," he told her in a dreamy sing-song voice, knowing full well he was going to just annoy her.

She swung the door open and crossed her arms across her chest, glaring at him. "This is all your fault and thanks to you I'm stuck with you for most of the day when I could be working on my reports!" She was nearly yelling at him.

"Honey, we shouldn't argue, it might frighten the children," he replied as they headed towards the jeep that Klinger had brought around.

"Pierce! I swear if you don't shut up I will hurt you," she threw him a look of disdain before getting into the passenger side of the jeep, pouting all the while.

"Captain, Major, the medical bag is in the jeep as well as some minor supplies that they requested," Klinger told them as Hawkeye got into the driver's side of the jeep.

"I thought we weren't giving them anymore supplies?" Hawkeye questioned.

"This is a gestured of good faith from Potter," he answered before saluting both of them and walking away.

Now the two officers were alone, and not too happy about it. "Ready?" Hawkeye asked as he started the engine.

"Just drive Pierce… and no singing!" She ordered him as she crossed her arms across her chest once again, the jeep jerked into motion as he took the road that lead out of camp.

"You know this isn't my fault," Hawkeye said over the chugging engine. In his peripheral, he saw Margaret roll her eyes. "My plan was flawless-"

"Flawless?!" She interrupted him. "You lied over and over to get your way and look where that led!"

"I was doing something good, Major!" He sneered over the sound of the engine as the jeep rolled through the mud-soaked land, a result from the storm the day before, the jeep started to slide as they came near an embankment.

"Pierce!" Margaret yelled as he slammed on the breaks to stop the jeep from going over the muddy edge. It skidded further down the edge before stopping completely with the front of the jeep still on higher ground while the back was dangerously resting in what was once the edge of the embankment.

"You okay?" Hawkeye asked as he loosened his grip from the steering wheel.

"What the hell, Pierce! Didn't you watch the road?" She demanded as she looked behind her to take in their predicament.

"Crawl out towards the front," he told her as he looked around the jeep.

"You crawl!"

"I'm not going to have this argument with you again, crawl your way out before the jee-" whatever he was going to say was cut off as the jeep tilted and rolled back down the embankment taking the two occupants with it.

The jeep slid down the embankment coming to a stop at the bottom, "Pierce, get us out of here!" Margaret told him as they looked up to see a mudslide heading directly towards them.

"Good idea," he shifted the jeep into reverse and felt it stall on him; he tried again to get the engine to turn over.

"Pierce!"

"I'm working on it, Margaret!" He yelled as the engine roared to life and he shifted the jeep into reverse, slamming on the gas pedal the jeep went flying backyards, Hawkeye turned his head just has the jeep slammed directed into the tree that was behind them. The momentum sent both occupants forward causing Hawkeye to slam into the steering wheel, he shifted his head just enough to see Margaret slumped over in the passenger seat before darkness over taking him from the crash.

* * *

He felt wetness hitting his neck in different places.

"B.J. we have a leak in the tent," he muttered in his sleep as he tried to move and he came into contact with the jeep shift stick. Shaking his head, he opened his eyes and looked around. "Margaret?" He whispered as he leaned over to her to check for a pulse.

"Go away Frank," she muttered and moved away from him.

"Wrong doctor, Major," he replied and shook her to get her attention. "Major, wake up!" He said louder and she groaned but didn't open her eyes.

The rain started to come down harder around them, looking around he saw a cave in the distance. He groaned silently to himself. "This day couldn't get worse," he whispered and got out of the jeep. He went around the other side to grab Margaret, shaking her again in hopes she would wake up. She didn't even stir at his movements.

"No worries, Margaret, your knight in shining armor is here," he whispered before situating her into his arms and making his way over to the cave. He could only hope that no one or thing would be making its home in the cave currently. Walking into the damp cave, he looked around for a decent dry spot against the cave wall and placed Margaret down softly against it. He noticed the bleeding cut on her head and muttered a silent explicative to himself. He needed the medical bag to take care of the cut and they were going to need the supplies. Running quickly outside, he raced through the rain to grab the box of supplies and his medical bag before rushing back to the cave. Just as he entered, the sound of a close thunder strike boomed. Jumping at the sound, he heard Margaret scream from inside the cave. He dropped the box and bag on the ground he went over to her, kneeling beside her.

"Margaret, you are okay, we are safe," he told her as he tried to get her to focus on him.

"What happened?" She asked startled and jumpy.

"We hit a tree," he told her as another thunder strike boomed closer, making both of them jump. Margaret went to get up and winced as she lifted her hand to her head. He pushed her back against the cave wall.

"Stay still, you hit your head, I'm going to check it out," he told her as he got to his feet and grabbed the box and bag, looking out to where the jeep was he noticed the sky getting darker.

"The storm is here," he told her as he dropped to his knees and placed his fingers gently against her head wound. "I'm going to clean this up, okay."

She nodded at him, "Are you okay?" She was actually genuinely concerned, even in her current state and predicament.

"Few bruises here and there but I'll be fine," he told her as he opened the medical bag and winced.

"Whats wrong?" She asked as she looked over him to see if there were any cuts or bleeding wounds, she saw nothing. "Where are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," he muttered as he searched inside the bag.

"Let me look you over," she told him in nurse mode.

"Whenever you want, Major," he said jokingly with a Cheshire grin.

"Stop making jokes, let me look at you."

"After I take care of your head wound."

He took out a small vial and a cotton swab from the bag, along with some bandages. He twisted the cap of the vial and put a little of the liquid on the cotton swab before directing his attention back to Margaret. "This will probably sting," he warned her as he gently pressed the swab against the wound.

"Pierce!" She growled through clenched teeth and grabbed his wrist in her hand to stop him.

"Let me finished cleaning," he told her and pushed her hand away before dabbing the area again.

"You're done Captain!" She moves her head away from his hand.

"Fine," he put his hands up and surrendered before putting the swab down and grabbing the small bandage. "Looks like you don't need any stitches but I am going to bandage it up and check on it later, okay?"

She nodded for him to continue, he gave her a weak smile and softly placed the small bandage on the wound to cover it. Cleaning up the mess, he placed the vial and the rest of the bandages back into the bag.

"Where is the pain?" She asked him as he turned his attention to the mouth of the cave.

"My shoulder and stomach," he told her truthfully as he turned slightly to face her. "I think I may have bruised some ribs from hitting the steering wheel."

"Let me look to make sure," she told him as she reached over and placed her hand on his arm. "Hawkeye, just let me confirm."

He nodded and got to his feet, he reached out his hand to help her get to her feet, making sure she had no issues standing before he gave her a slight nod and he started to remove his army issue jacket. A huge strike of lightening lit the cave up, followed by a very loud thunder clap. Margaret threw her arms around Hawkeye for comfort.

"It's okay," he told her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder as another bolt of lightening came down striking the tree that they had hit with the jeep. Within seconds the tree was engulfed in flames, the flames shifted over to the jeep and started to burn the tires and any other flammable parts of the jeep.

"Margaret down," Hawkeye screamed as he pushed her to the ground just as the fire reached the gas tank and exploded, flinging parts of the jeep in all directions. They laid on the ground watching what was left of their jeep burn.

"So much for driving out of here," Hawkeye told her as he placed his head against the cold earth of the cave and silently cursed their luck.

It was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I have no rights to the show.

A/N: I want to thank my friends Amber and Jennifer for going over this story and editing it for me. This chapter does contain several references to different episodes.

* * *

Chapter 2:

Hawkeye got to his feet and offered his hand to help Margaret to hers, but she slapped it away.

"You've done enough," she growled as she got to her feet on her own.

"This isn't my fault! The embankment gave away or did you forget that when you hit your head?" He raised his voiced and heard it reverberate in the small cave that protected them from the outside elements.

"If you hadn't concocted Tuttle then neither of us would be here!" She shouted which, like his voice, resonated around them, but much louder.

"Tuttle would have never materialized if it hadn't been for this stupid war!"

"The war has nothing to do with your lies!" She yelled louder at him.

"Will you shut up!? Or do you want all of Korea to hear you!?" He asked as he motioned around the cave.

His eyes now looked around the cave for the first time. When he had first run inside, it was in order to get Margaret to safety. Now that danger was temporarily behind them, he truly noticed how small the cave was and how deep it went back. He felt his heart start to race, his throat tightening, and he suddenly felt the need to drink something from his still.

"Pierce?" Margaret asked quietly hoping not to startle him.

He made eye contact with her and opened his mouth to speak but it felt like it was full of cotton. "Your claustrophobia?" She asked, and he could only nod. She placed her hand on his arm and told him to stay as she went over to the medical bag that he had brought. Kneeling down she opened it and searched for what she knew B.J. or him would have placed in the bag before leaving for this disastrous trip. She found the flask at the bottom of the bag. Grabbing it she got to her feet and walked back over to him.

"Drink."

He nodded as he grabbed the flask from her hand and twisted the top off before taking a big gulp of the lighter fluid liquor that he and B.J. had made. He silently thanked B.J. for placing the flask in the bag before he left.

"Feeling better?" She studied him closely. She recalled a moment when he had disclosed to her of another time in a cave very much like this that he had claustrophobia and he wasn't okay until they were back at camp. Their current situation was worse as they had no mode of transportation and walking in this weather wasn't an option.

"We need to get out of here," Pierce twisted the cap back on the flask and handed it back to Margaret and began to pace around the cave. He headed towards the entrance and looked out. The jeep was still smoldering near the tree and the mud didn't give any clues of escape other than his footprints leading into the cave. Lightening lit up the sky, and the rolling thunder that followed indicated the storm was further off.

"If we start walking now, we can avoid the thunder and lightening before it's right above us," he told her as she moved to stand by him. He noticed her shiver as she viewed where the lightening was occurring.

"Where do you think we can go?" She questioned as she jumped at another lightning strike, followed closely by a clap of thunder.

"We can walk, it's just a little rain," he rambled on as the rain seemed to mock him and began pouring outside.

"You were saying?" She asked as another clap of thunder sounded. It reverberated loudly in the cave making her jump even more. Pierce had been pacing up and down, looking out each time he found himself back at the entrance of the cave.

"Will you stop pacing!" She screamed at him. He stilled at the cave entrance and looked at her.

"Why?" He questioned annoyed that she had told him to stop. "Not like we can go anywhere Major so unless you have another suggestion I'm going to-"he stopped as he looked her and saw her shaking.

"Margaret," he whispered as he walked over to her. "It will be okay," he told her as he pulled her into his arms. He winced at the movement and she pushed him back but still within in arm's length.

"You need to let me look at your stomach," she slipped into nurse mode faster than Klinger slipping into a dress to get a section eight.

"Enough, take off your shirt," she ordered him as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Never thought you would ask Major," he smiled and removed his jacket and handed it to her. "If I knew all it took was getting you into a cave, I would have done it a long time ago," he continued as he unbutton his Hawaiian shirt and then removed it.

"Your jacket has a tear in it Captain," she pointed at the tear that was in the area of the right shoulder.

"That's army clothing for you, always tearing us a new one," he retorted as he slipped off his Hawaiian shirt, where he noticed a stain on the back of it.

"Will you stop it with the jokes?" She asked as she grabbed the Hawaiian shirt that he held out. She held it out at arm's length, "Don't you ever wash this thing?"

"Nah, that would ruin the memories," he responded as he lifted his army issue shirt over his head, he heard her gasp as he finished removing his shirt. Looking down he saw the beginnings of several bruises across his ribs. There was no doubt that as time progressed the bruises would form a minor impression of the steering wheel he collided with during their crash.

Margaret handed his clothing back to him before taking a step closer to his chest and examining the marks. "You should get X-rays done when we get back, _if_ we get back," she added as an afterthought touching the bruises. He winced in obvious discomfort but allowed her to continue. "Turn around," she ordered so she could look at his right shoulder that he had mentioned was hurt. He complied and turned around.

"So? Like what you see?" He asked jokingly before she reached out and touched his shoulder, he whelped as her fingers came across his shoulder.

"I think you have a special relationship with wood," she told him. "There's a small piece of wood embedded inside your shoulder."

He tried to look over his shoulder to see any parts of the wound, then a thought dawned on him. Dropping is jacket he looked over at his Hawaiian shirt. What he thought was a stain, in actuality, was blood from his wounded shoulder and, to his disappointment, there was a tear in his beloved Hawaiian shirt.

"And there goes all those memories," he told her as he dropped the shirt to the ground. "Klinger will be disappointed."

"What?" Margaret asked confused as she picked up the discarded shirt and jacket, he waved her off and motion her to follow him over to his medical bag. She returned his jacket but kept the Hawaiian shirt in her hands.

"Pull out the piece of wood and then put on the dressing before we lose anymore light," he took a seat on the ground facing away from her. She placed the Hawaiian shirt in the bag and then bent down focusing his shoulder.

"Do you want-"

"Don't start pushing the morphine Margaret just fix it," he gritted through his teeth.

"Because that worked out so well for you last time," she told him as she began to pull out the items she needed from the medical bag. "This will sting," she warned before she grabbed the bottle of alcohol and poured some on his wound. He yelled as he had done in the hut when they were stuck behind enemy lines. That felt like a lifetime ago. She waited for him to quiet down before taking the forceps in her hand and then using them to pull on the piece of wood. He screamed again in agony as she twisted the piece of wood trying to get it out.

"Take the damn thing out Margaret!"

"Stop squirming so I can get a grip on it," she told him as he still shifted around in pain. Tired of his movement she stopped momentarily. When he did finally stop moving, she pushed him roughly on the ground, his stomach and chin finding the cold ground beneath him. He felt Margaret place her knee into his back rendering him unable to move except his legs and arms.

"Margaret is this really necessary?" He voiced his displeasure as he shifted his head to lie flat on the ground. She ignored his comment and went to work once again with the forceps to pull out the piece of wood. In this position she had more control over him and could finally get a good enough grip to pull out the embedded piece of wood.

"If you stopped moving or even taken that damn morphine then you could have avoided this situation," she scolded him as she reached her hand into to the bag grabbing the 3.0 silk and a small towel. Looking down at him she stated, "Final chance."

"Fine!" He told her more annoyed and in more pain from having the ground touching his already sore ribs.

"You will feel better," she told him as she lowered the 3.0 silk onto the towel. She reached in the bag, feeling for the morphine bottle and syringe. She filled the syringe with the correct amount of morphine, then got a small pad, putting alcohol on it. She rubbed the pad against a spot on his good shoulder, then inserted the needle, and injected the morphine into his body. She placed the needle on the towel and slowly removed her knee from his back. She wanted to wait for the morphine to take effect before working on his shoulder.

"Sorry."

"It's fine, I always knew you secretly liked to wrestle," he told her as he sat back up. He ran his fingers through his now dirty hair before looking over at his shoulder, "just finish it up, okay?"

She nodded and reached for the silk, so she could once again close the wound and place a bandage on it. This time he winced but there was no yell and he didn't move from his spot in front of her. "You can put your shirt back on," she told him as she placed the silk and unused bandages back in the bag. She then placed the needle with the used bandage and wrapped it in the small towel that was in the bag and placed the item back inside the bag.

"Want to see if Potter by a chance packed some food in the box?" She asked quietly as she got to her feet and walked over to the box. She opened it and looked around to see what Potter had given the orphanage. There were medical supplies of course, two blankets, and a couple cans of peaches. She grabbed one of the cans and a blanket before walking back over to where Hawkeye was. He had already tugged his shirt back on and was pulling on his jacket as she took a seat next to him.

"Peaches," she told him as she handed him the can. "We can use the blankets as it gets colder. There is another can of peaches in the box if we needed it. He nodded and pulled on the tab to open the can of peaches.

"These are small peaches and look like they have been through worse situations then us," he told her as he looked inside can. "Got a fork?"

"Unless you packed one in your bag, no," she told him as she took the can from his hands and used her fingers to reach in and pull out one of the slices of peaches. Popping it into her mouth she chewed it quietly.

"How is it?" He asked her as he took back the can, sniffing it.

"Better than the mess tent food," she told him after she sallowed. He used his fingers and pulled out a slice, tossing it into his mouth.

"You lied," he told her as he finished swallowing the slice. "It's just as bad as the mess tent, probably surplus from WW2," he took out another piece passing the can back.

"Think they will be looking for us soon?" She asked as she took another piece.

"Hopefully. I don't want to spend the night in a cold damn cave," he told her truthfully. The weather had just begun to turn cold and with the storm raging around them, the night wouldn't be pleasant by any means. The next few moments were filled with silence as they exchanged the can of peaches back and forth, emptying it's contents. Placing the can on the ground next to him, Pierce scooted until his back came against the wall. Leaning his head back, he sighed softly.

"Feeling better?" She asked him as she noticed the exhaustion in his face. He had gotten a decent amount of sleep the night before, but the days events had already taken its toll on him.

"Just tired," he closed his eyes and listened to the rain outside, the thunder seemed to have moved on a little but the rain was still pouring.

"I hate morphine," he told her suddenly." I hate how it makes me feel, I hate not being in control of my body."

"You were in pain," she reminded him as she also moved back against the cave wall.

"Rather be in pain than not in control," he whispered.

"Then why did you take the shot?"

"Because you told me to," he muttered half asleep. She smiled to herself before grabbing the blanket she had brought over and laid it over him. He was softly snoring by the time she had tucked it in around him. Getting to her feet she headed to the opening of the cave and looked out. They weren't going anywhere in this rain. They could walk out if the rain eased, but she wasn't sure where they were. For all she knew they were once again behind enemy lines. Pulling her jacket more tightly around her she looked up and prayed that Potter had gotten a call that they never made it to the orphanage.

* * *

"Wanted to see us?" B.J. asked as he and Charles entered the Colonel's office. Potter was sitting behind his desk and Klinger was standing next to him. Father Mulcahy was seated in front of Potter's desk and there were two empty chairs next to him.

"Yes, and close the door," he told them quietly. B.J. closed the door and he and Charles took the two empty seats in front of the desk. "I have some news."

"What's wrong?" B.J. asked, worried as thoughts raced through his head about his friend. "Something happen to Hawk and Margaret?"

"The orphanage let us know that they never showed up," Potter told them before sighing. "I had Klinger contact I-Corps and they said the surrounding area has had mud slides. They have no access, so they can't send a party out to look for them."

"What about a spotter plane?" B.J. asked. It had worked previously in allowing them to find out what area Hawk and Margaret were in.

"The weather around the area is dangerous and they have grounded everyone until the storm disperses. But that isn't why I called you in."

"What is it?" Father Mulcahy asked quietly.

"A spotter plane located the explosion of a jeep before being forced to land. He got a look at the jeep and it was one of ours." He told them in a near whisper. The entire room was quiet as they listened to him.

"The jeep was in the same area that Hawk and Margaret were in?" B.J. asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes, son," Potter replied softly.

"Well, we can take a jeep and search for them ourselves," B.J. told Potter as he got to his feet.

"Hunnicutt, I can't allow you to go."

"Colonel they could be hurt," B.J. argued as he walked towards the door. "I'm going."

"You will not go and that is an order!" Potter yelled as he got to his feet. He took a deep breath before continuing. What he was about to say would not go over well with any of them.

"The area around the orphanage will be under heavy fire within the next few hours."

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I still have no rights to the show, movie, etc.

A/N: The chapter does contain spoilers from episodes. Thank you to my friend Amber for looking over this chapter for me.

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" B.J. slammed the screen door to the swamp in anger, unaware that Charles was following him in. Charles flinched back, closed his eyes, and sighed in exasperation before opening the door again to enter. B.J. had stormed out of the meeting with Potter and headed straight to the swamp feeling useless.

"Pierce and Margaret have been in this situation before and there is no reason to think they won't return again," Charles pointed out as he took a seat at his desk. Potter opened the door to the swamp and walked in.

"This was supposed to be simple trip, they weren't anywhere near enemy lines and now they could be right in the middle of it!" B.J. exclaimed as he looked over at Potter.

"You have news Colonel?

"I came for a drink," he replied. B.J gave him a nod and filled two glasses with the newest liquor from the still. He handed one to Potter and kept the other for himself.

"I have Klinger talking to anyone who could possibly help us or give anymore information, but with the storm above, the phones are out of whack," he explained as the clouds turned darker and the rain started to pour.

Klinger opened the door to the swamp, already dripping wet from the short walk he took to get there. "Sirs, we have wounded coming," he informed them quietly.

"Pierce and Houlihan have survived this situation before, and I have no doubts that they will return. They are both strong people and as long as they are working together, they should be fine." Potter told the three men but B.J looked unconvinced.

"Unless their luck runs out." B.J said quietly as they all exited the tent just as a bus pulled in with the wounded.

* * *

It had been almost two hours since Pierce had fallen asleep next to Margaret. She had gotten up a few times to check the surrounding areas and to fill the empty peaches can with some of the fresh rain water. Pierce stirred next to her as she sat on the ground with her jacket pulled closely to her body, trying to stay warm. The windchill from the storm and the dampness of the cave had made it much colder than she was accustomed to.

"Needs to be dry," Pierce said in his sleep as he shifted and let his head fall onto her shoulder. "Hmm, warm."

Margaret didn't want to wake him, but he needed to drink something, and they had to discuss some sort of plan if they were going to be there overnight. She moved her head slightly to speak into his right ear. "Pierce."

"It's too cold to have wounded," he muttered and burrowed further into her. In his sleep state he wrapped his right arm around her waist and whined in his sleep from what she assumed was the stiffening of his shoulder. "Captain!"

"What?!" He woke with a jerk and jumped away from her. "Where are we?" He asked still asleep and looked around, as his eyes took in the surroundings. She could instantly see when he remembered. "Oh," he muttered to himself and ran his left hand over his face.

"How long was I asleep?"

"A few hours, drink this," she told him as she handed him the can filled with water. He took the can and had a sip.

"I had hoped it was a bad dream," he took another sip, then handed the can back to her.

"No such luck," she replied and glanced outside, the rain hadn't stopped, nor did it let up since before he fell asleep.

"Did you get any sleep?" He asked as he got to his feet and stretched, regretting the minute he did as his stomach muscles reminded him of the bruises he had acquired.

"I was keeping watch," she replied as she grabbed the discarded blanket and wrapped it around herself.

"Get a little sleep," he offered as he walked around as much as he could in the cave.

"Not tired," she told him truthfully. During the time he was asleep her mind had gone over many scenarios of what ifs and none of them were pleasant except leaving the cave and returning to camp. "I was thinking about something while you were asleep."

"Yeah?"

"You mentioned Klinger would be disappointed with your shirt being ruined, why?"

"Oh, that," he hadn't meant to mentioned that and secretly hoped she would have forgotten he'd said anything about it. "It's a long story."

"We have no plans to leave, at present," she reminded him. "You can tell me, you know that."

Pierce studied her for a moment before going over to the box and pulling out the second blanket. Heading back to where she was at, he took his previous position, and wrapped the blanket over himself. "Remember my last trip to the aid station?" he began.

"Of course," she was worried about him just as B.J had been when there had been word that a surgeon was killed. If it hadn't been for B.J noticing his stitching they wouldn't have had word until much later.

"While I was there, I started to write my will," he told her in a whisper.

"Your will?"

"The last one I had was no longer important to me and I wanted to update it, to add more people than just my father as beneficiaries," he told her softly. She opened her mouth to reply but couldn't come up with the words to say.

"So," he took a deep breath but didn't continue. He hadn't told anyone what he had written in that will.

"You don't have to tell me anymore," she told him in a whisper. He glanced down at her and smiled.

"I left most of my possessions to my dad except for a few items. I left Father Mulcahy the only thing I had on me which was a nickel. He had been there for me in a time that I needed him, and I am forever grateful. I left Charles my robe. Despite the many tricks we have pulled on him, he has always risen above them. For Potter I left my copy of _The Last of Mohicans_ , the copy my dad had given me. The one that is still in my tent. In the will I explained my reasons for leaving those items to them. To B.J I didn't leave anything. I couldn't decide what to leave him." he laid his head back against the wall of the cave and sighed.

"He's my best friend and I couldn't think of a damn thing to leave him."

"I'm sure he would have understood," she replied trying to make him feel better.

"When I got back to camp, I finally decided what to leave and it wasn't for him, it was for his daughter. I left the names of everyone he has saved since he's been here, and have added to it since then," he told her in a whisper.

"That was very sweet of you," she told him as tears tinged her eyes.

"As for Klinger, I left him my Hawaiian shirt," he smiled at the thought. "Guess I'll need to update the will again and leave him another prized shirt, if I ever find another one like it."

"It's just a shirt Hawkeye," she pointed out, closing her eyes regretting it the moment the words left her lips.

"It's the one thing that has been with me since I first set foot in this damn place! It's my tie to home and out of this nightmare! It's the one thing that gives me the warmth of home without being there!"

She was silent after his confession. She didn't realize how important the shirt was. He had had it with him since she had known him, but to hear the heartbreak in his voice at the loss of the shirt, she felt the tears once again threaten her eyes.

They stayed silent watching the rain outside, neither sure of what to say. He looked down at her and whispered so quietly that he wasn't sure she had heard him. "There is also something in the will for you."

She hadn't turned back to look up at him. He wouldn't tell her, and she didn't need to know. Just knowing he cared enough about her to leave something was enough. Wrapping his left arm over her shoulder, he pulled her to him. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you" she said softly, not only for what he told her but for giving her more warmth.

They remained silent for several minutes just enjoying the sound of the rain and the warmth of each other. "I also left something for you," she told him softly.

"Really?" He asked surprised as a mischievous grin graced his lips. "What is it?"

"When the time comes you will know," she told him as she wrapped her arm around his waist carefully to avoid his bruised stomach.

"Come on tell me!" He whined liked a five year old wanting to know his Christmas gift.

"No," she squeezed his stomach in retaliation and he jerked back but didn't let her go.

"I hope the time never comes that I find out," he whispered after another several minutes of silence between them.

"I don't want to spend the night here," she told him. He nodded and turned his head and looked outside.

"The rain is stopping," he said looking outside and noticing that it was tapering off. "Want to risk it?"

She moved her head off his shoulder and looked up at him, giving him a nod. He got to his feet and helped her up. They grabbed the medical bag and blankets. Placing the blankets back into the box he closed the lid, then picked up the box while she slung the medical bag over her shoulder.

They stopped at the cave entrance and looked in all directions. To the right was where the embankment had been, once upon a time. To the left was open area, and in front of them was what was left of their jeep.

"I say we go left until we can find a way that goes over that hill. We should be able to find the road from there and take it back to camp," she told him. Looking up, she waited for his approval.

"Lead on major," he motioned for her to go ahead, and they both walked out of the cave.

They made their way left of the cave entrance for a good amount of time until the hill on their right started to slope down. Making their way through the mud, they searched for an area that allowed them better access to the road above.

"You know I'm thinking of telling Potter that I'm off any trips that don't go to Seoul or Tokyo." He grunted as he trudged through the mud.

"I think we should request some R&R after this disaster and for future reference, I'm never ever going with only you on another trip," she replied as she tried to keep her footing against the mud.

"I agree," he nodded as he looked up ahead to see where they were.

"Hey, look!" He exclaimed as he motioned to a section of hill that was somewhat dry and not very steep. "I think that's our way out of here."

"Let's get moving," she replied, and they moved faster to the section to climb it. Finally reaching the road they'd once been on earlier that day, they smiled, and began the hike back to camp.

"Should make it back before dinner," she informed him as they walked down the quiet road.

"Think we can find a joint to eat at before then?"

"Yeah, and they will be serving all your favorite foods," she retorted.

"Don't tease my stomach, Major," he warned jokingly before stopping suddenly. Margaret had gone on a few feet before she noticed he had stopped. Turning around to face him she asked him what he was doing.

"Look the sun is coming out," he smiled broadly and tilted his head enjoying its warmth.

"Feels wonder-" her words were cut off as gun fire surrounded them. He tossed the box and dropped to his belly, yelling at her to do the same, but he was only greeted with a scream of agony as she fell next to him bleeding.

Gun shots rang out around them as he crawled closer to her, searching her body. There was blood gushing from her shoulder, and she was crying in pain. "Margaret, I'm here!" He yelled over the gunfire and placed his hands on her wound.

"Hawk, it hurts," she grunted as she writhed on the ground trying to ease the pain.

"Stop moving," he ordered her and try to assess the injury on her shoulder. "I think you'll be okay," he yelled over the gun fire. There was yelling all around him, some voices in English and the others were not. Everything was loud and his heart was pounding so loudly in his ears he couldn't tell what was louder.

He reached into the medical bag as a more frightening sound rang from above. He flung his body over hers as he felt metal burning through his clothing and into the flesh of his back. He stayed where he was and heard Margaret's desperate screams not only from pain but her worry for him.

"Hawkeye!" She screamed and tried to push him off, but he wouldn't budge. She placed her one good arm around his back.

Screaming out he looked up as he heard people yelling and saw a young corpsman running towards him.

"I've got you, solider," the corpsman told him as he slid next to Pierce. He slowly pulled him off Margaret and yelled for another corpsman.

"Schplunky! I need help over here!" The corpsman yelled above him as he felt the hands of the corpsman place something onto his back. Another corpsman slid in the mud next to him just as his eyes started to get heavy from the excruciating pain.

"You're going to be fine solider," The corpsman told him as he felt the man tie the bandage tightly around him.

"Not a soldier, a doctor," he told the young man between breaths. "4077th," he whispered before darkness overtook him.

To Be Continued.

A/N: If there are any fans of the show on twitter you can find me on there under the same name. Feel free to say hello or just want to chat about the show.


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